Changes: Lightning

Latest revision as of 02:36, 31 October 2017

The Lightning, also known as the Primaris-Lightning during the Great Crusade era and the Lightning Strike Fighter in one of its more common variants, is an air superiority fighter aircraft and ground attack aircraft used by the Imperial Navy for the purpose of quickly assaulting and defeating the enemy in aerial dogfights in order to establish air superiority over the battlefield.

The Lightning is smaller and much more maneuverable than the heavier Imperial Thunderbolt fighter, and can be quickly scrambled during an enemy attack. The aircraft is capable of short take-off and landing (STOL) and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), and when stationed on the ground, either at a permanent airbase or a forward operating base during a mission, the Lightning can use hydraulic ramps to get into the sky and into combat almost instantaneously. The Lightning is also capable of limited spaceflight in a vacuum and atmospheric reentry so that it can be launched from Imperial starships in orbit and unleashed anywhere air support is needed by Imperial forces during a planetary assault.

History

The Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighter was a relatively recent addition to the armouries of the Imperium's military forces during the latter years of the Great Crusade. The Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighter was a high-speed sub-orbital fighter craft designed for rapid interception, interdiction and surgical-strike roles. The Standard Template Construct (STC) design for the Lightning were found by Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator teams on the world of Karnak II after the Saint-Saen Crusade, which liberated twelve worlds in the Segmentum Obscurus. The database's design was transferred to the Forge World of Cypra Mundi, where the Lords of the Mechanicus consulted with the Emperor's Tarot and followed the advice of their oldest and wisest Tech-priests. The design was cross-referenced with the Mechanicus' vast archive on Mars before its rediscovery was determined to meet with the favour of the Machine God, and the manufacture of the Lightning began in earnest.

Created by the Archmagos-Arbiter Sykosk Thule, master of the sovereign Forge World of Voss, the Primaris-Lightning represented a new paradigm in aero-warcraft, being built around a powerful forced-plasma ramjet drive and optimised for the most sophisticated munitions and avionics systems available. While exceeding all similar patterns in service of its size for speed and payload capacity, it was extremely costly to produce, proved difficult to maintain and difficult to handle by all but the most experienced pilots -- flaws Sykosk attributed purely to the failure of weak flesh. These factors, however, saw the pattern's issue limited to elite close support units, such as the pilots of the Solar Auxilia, while a "degraded" -- if more easy to operate and maintain -- version of the Lightning was rumoured to be under consideration just prior to the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, although this reduced pattern played no part in the conflict.

After nearly half a millennium of trial-and-error, the Lightning saw its first official service with the Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Obscurus, and after all the engineering difficulties with reproducing the Lightning's advanced forward swept wing design were worked out the aircraft went into full production and was soon being supplied to all of the Imperial Navy's Carriers and Cruisers. The Lightning's STC data was eventually shared with the major Imperial naval centers of Bakka and Hydraphur, and now the Lightning is in service with the battlefleets of the Segmentum Tempestus and Segmentum Pacificus as well as the Segmentum Obscurus. Lightning production has recently begun within the Segmentum Solar, resulting in a new pattern of the aircraft known as the Voss Pattern Lightning Strike Fighter, which originated on the Forge World of Voss.

Armament

Lightning4 — Lightning Fighters coming in for an attack

The basic armament of the Lightning is that of an air superiority fighter craft. It is armed with a single ventral-mounted, long-barrelled Autocannon, two wing-mounted Lascannons, and four wing-mounted Hellstrike Missiles. This weapons loadout, combined with the Lightning's superior speed and maneuverability, make it a fearsome fighter perfectly suited for aerial dogfights with other aircraft. The Lightning can replace its Hellstrike Missiles with Hellfury Missiles or the air-to-air Skystrike Missiles and it can also be adapted to carry bombs. The Lightning can be outfitted with an ejector seat, flare or chaff launchers, a more heavily armoured cockpit (at the cost of weapons and ammunition space), infrared targeting systems, and illumination flares.

Lightning Strike Fighter

The Strike variant of the Lightning, known as the Lightning Strike Fighter, is a variant of the standard Lightning Air Superiority Fighter that has been modified to fulfill a ground-attack role. The Lightning Strike variant is the same as the standard Lightning pattern, save with a different weapons load-out which removes the ventral-mounted long-barrelled Autocannon to save weight and adds additional Hellstrike Missiles. This variant of the fighter is primarily used to attack enemy armour on the ground and as a heavy air support unit for ground forces such as Astra Militarum or Space Marine infantry.

Known Imperial Navy Lightning Squadrons

2774^th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Wyrm Squadron
3035^th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Firedrake Squadron
717^th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Warhawk Squadron
2872^nd Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Thunderbird Squadron
484^th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Talon Squadron
1002^nd Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Red-hammer Squadron

Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications

**Lightning Air Superiority Fighter**
Type	Interceptor	Operational Ceiling	36,000 Metres
Vehicle Name	Lightning	Max Speed	2,400 kilometres per hour
Forge World of Origin	Cypra Mundi, Bakka, Hydraphur, Voss	Range	8,000 kilometres
Known Patterns	III - IX	Main Armament	2 Wing-mounted Lascannons, 1 Ventral-mounted Long Barreled Autocannon
Crew	1 Pilot	Secondary Armament	4 Hellstrike Missiles
Powerplant	2 x F100-XB Afterburning Turbofans	Main Ammunition	40 Shots From Battery Packs
Weight	10 Tonnes Empty	Secondary Ammunition	100 Rounds
Length	10.8 Meters	Armour
Wingspan	13.75 Meters	Superstructure	45 millimetres
Height	3.4 With Landing Gear Down Meters	Hull	30 millimetres

**Lightning Strike Fighter**
Type	Ground Attack Craft	Operational Ceiling	36,000 Metres
Vehicle Name	Lightning Strike	Max Speed	2,400 kilometres per hour
Forge World of Origin	Cypra Mundi, Bakka, Hydraphur, Voss	Range	8,000 kilometres
Known Patterns	III - IX	Main Armament	2 Wing-mounted Lascannons
Crew	1 Pilot	Secondary Armament	6 Hellstrike Missiles
Powerplant	2 x F100-XB Afterburning Turbofans	Main Ammunition	30 Shots From Battery Packs
Weight	10 Tonnes Empty	Secondary Ammunition	6 Missiles
Length	10.8 Meters	Armour
Wingspan	13.75 Meters	Superstructure	45 millimetres
Height	3.4 With Landing Gear Down Meters	Hull	30 millimetres

Canon Conflict

Though it is stated in Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy that it took over five hundred years of research and trial-and error to officially approve the Lighting Pattern for the Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Armour Volume One - Second Edition: Imperial Guard on page 12 indicates that it required only half a century for official approval to be made.

Sources

Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard & Imperial Navy, pp. 216-222
Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard (Second Edition), pp. 12, 266
Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus, pg. 206
Imperial Armour Aeronautica, pg. 12
Imperial Armour, pp. 72-75
Imperial Armour: Apocalypse, pg. 37
Imperial Armour: Apocalypse II, pg. 25
Aeronautica Imperialis (6th Edition), pg. 22
The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 150-151
The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest by Alan Bligh, pg. 276
The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 132-147
Forge World - Voss Pattern Lightning Air Superiority Fighter

Also See

Imperial Guard Vehicles

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Lightning.png|thumb|300px|A squadron of Lightning Fighters out on patrol]]
+[[File:Lightning.png|thumb|250px|A squadron of Lightning Fighters out on patrol]]
+The '''Lightning''', also known as the '''Primaris-Lightning''' during the [[Great Crusade]] era and the '''Lightning Strike Fighter''' in one of its more common variants, is an air superiority fighter aircraft and ground attack aircraft used by the [[Imperial Navy]] for the purpose of quickly assaulting and defeating the enemy in aerial dogfights in order to establish air superiority over the battlefield.
-The '''Lightning''' is an air superiority fighter aircraft used by the [[Imperial Navy]] for the purpose of quickly assaulting and defeating the enemy in aerial dogfights in order to establish air superiority over the battlefield. The Lightning is smaller and much more maneuverable than the heavier Imperial [[Thunderbolt]] fighter, and can be quickly scrambled during an enemy attack. The craft is capable of short take-off and landing (STOL) and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), and when stationed on the ground, either at a permanent airbase or a forward operating base during a mission, the Lightning can use hydraulic ramps to get into the sky and into combat almost instantaneously. The Lightning is also capable of limited spaceflight in a vacuum and atmospheric reentry so that it can be launched from Imperial starships in orbit and unleashed anywhere air support is needed by Imperial forces during a planetary assault.
+The Lightning is smaller and much more maneuverable than the heavier Imperial [[Thunderbolt]] fighter, and can be quickly scrambled during an enemy attack. The aircraft is capable of short take-off and landing (STOL) and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), and when stationed on the ground, either at a permanent airbase or a forward operating base during a mission, the Lightning can use hydraulic ramps to get into the sky and into combat almost instantaneously. The Lightning is also capable of limited spaceflight in a vacuum and atmospheric reentry so that it can be launched from [[Imperial]] starships in orbit and unleashed anywhere air support is needed by Imperial forces during a planetary assault.
 ==History==
+The Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighter was a relatively recent addition to the armouries of the Imperium's military forces during the latter years of the [[Great Crusade]]. The Primaris-Lightning Strike Fighter was a high-speed sub-orbital fighter craft designed for rapid interception, interdiction and surgical-strike roles. The [[Standard Template Construct (STC)]] design for the Lightning were found by [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] [[Explorator]] teams on the world of Karnak II after the [[Saint-Saen Crusade]], which liberated twelve worlds in the [[Segmentum Obscurus]]. The database's design was transferred to the [[Forge World]] of [[Cypra Mundi]], where the Lords of the Mechanicus consulted with the [[Emperor's Tarot]] and followed the advice of their oldest and wisest [[Tech-priests]]. The design was cross-referenced with the Mechanicus' vast archive on [[Mars]] before its rediscovery was determined to meet with the favour of the [[Machine God]], and the manufacture of the Lightning began in earnest.
+Created by the Archmagos-Arbiter Sykosk Thule, master of the sovereign [[Forge World]] of [[Voss]], the Primaris-Lightning represented a new paradigm in aero-warcraft, being built around a powerful forced-plasma ramjet drive and optimised for the most sophisticated munitions and avionics systems available. While exceeding all similar patterns in service of its size for speed and payload capacity, it was extremely costly to produce, proved difficult to maintain and difficult to handle by all but the most experienced pilots -- flaws Sykosk attributed purely to the failure of weak flesh. These factors, however, saw the pattern's issue limited to elite close support units, such as the pilots of the [[Solar Auxilia]], while a "degraded" -- if more easy to operate and maintain -- version of the Lightning was rumoured to be under consideration just prior to the outbreak of the [[Horus Heresy]], although this reduced pattern played no part in the conflict.
-The [[Standard Template Construct (STC)]] design for the Lightning were found by [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] [[Explorator]] teams on the world of karnak II after the Saint-Saen Crusade, which liberated twelve worlds in the [[Segmentum Obscurus]]. The database's design was transferred to the [[Forge World]] of [[Cypra Mundi]], where the Lords of the Mechanicus consulted with the [[Emperor's Tarot]] and followed the advice of their oldest and wisest [[Tech-priests]]. The design was cross-referenced with the Mechanicus' vast archive on [[Mars]] before its rediscovery was determined to meet with the favour of the [[Machine God]], and the manufacture of the Lightning began in earnest. After nearly half a millennium of trial and error, the Lightning saw its first service with the Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Obscurus, and after all the engineering difficulties with reproducing the Lightning's advanced swept wing design were worked out the aircraft went into full production and was soon being supplied to all of the Imperial Navy's Carriers and Cruisers. The Lightning's [[STC]] data was eventually shared with the major Imperial naval centers of [[Bakka]] and [[Hydraphur]], and now the Lightning is in service with the battlefleets of the [[Segmentum Tempestus]] and [[Segmentum Pacificus]] as well as the [[Segmentum Obscurus]].
+After nearly half a millennium of trial-and-error, the Lightning saw its first official service with the [[Imperial Navy]]'s [[Battlefleet Obscurus]], and after all the engineering difficulties with reproducing the Lightning's advanced forward swept wing design were worked out the aircraft went into full production and was soon being supplied to all of the Imperial Navy's Carriers and Cruisers. The Lightning's [[STC]] data was eventually shared with the major Imperial naval centers of [[Bakka]] and [[Hydraphur]], and now the Lightning is in service with the battlefleets of the [[Segmentum Tempestus]] and [[Segmentum Pacificus]] as well as the [[Segmentum Obscurus]]. Lightning production has recently begun within the [[Segmentum Solar]], resulting in a new pattern of the aircraft known as the Voss Pattern Lightning Strike Fighter, which originated on the Forge World of [[Voss]].
 ==Armament==
+[[File:Lightning4.png|thumb|250px|Lightning Fighters coming in for an attack]]
-[[File:Lightning4.png|thumb|250px|Lightning Fighters coming in for an attack]] The basic armament for the Lightning are 2 wing-mounted [[Lascannons]], a single ventral-mounted long-barrelled [[Autocannon]], and 4 wing-mounted [[Missile|Hellstrike Missiles]]. The "Strike" variant of the Lightning, which is the same as the standard Lightning save with a different weapons load-out, removes the Autocannon to save weight and adds additional Hellstrike Missiles. The "Strike" variant of the fighter is primarily used to attack enemy armour on the ground and as a heavy air support unit for ground forces such as [[Imperial Guard]] or [[Space Marine]] infantry. The Lightning can replace its Hellstrike Missiles with [[Missile|Hellfury Missiles]] or the air-to-air [[Missile|Skystrike Missiles]] and it can also be adapted to carry bombs. The Lightning can be outfitted with an ejector seat, flare or chaff launchers, a more heavily armoured cockpit (at the cost of weapons and ammunition space), infrared targeting systems, and illumination flares.
+The basic armament of the Lightning is that of an air superiority fighter craft. It is armed with a single ventral-mounted, long-barrelled [[Autocannon]], two wing-mounted [[Lascannons]], and four wing-mounted [[Missile|Hellstrike Missiles]]. This weapons loadout, combined with the Lightning's superior speed and maneuverability, make it a fearsome fighter perfectly suited for aerial dogfights with other aircraft. The Lightning can replace its Hellstrike Missiles with [[Missile|Hellfury Missiles]] or the air-to-air [[Missile|Skystrike Missiles]] and it can also be adapted to carry bombs. The Lightning can be outfitted with an ejector seat, flare or chaff launchers, a more heavily armoured cockpit (at the cost of weapons and ammunition space), infrared targeting systems, and illumination flares.
+==Lightning Strike Fighter==
+The Strike variant of the Lightning, known as the Lightning Strike Fighter, is a variant of the standard Lightning Air Superiority Fighter that has been modified to fulfill a ground-attack role. The Lightning Strike variant is the same as the standard Lightning pattern, save with a different weapons load-out which removes the ventral-mounted long-barrelled [[Autocannon]] to save weight and adds additional Hellstrike Missiles. This variant of the fighter is primarily used to attack enemy armour on the ground and as a heavy air support unit for ground forces such as [[Astra Militarum]] or [[Space Marine]] infantry.
 ==Known Imperial Navy Lightning Squadrons==
-*'''2774th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Wyrm Squadron'''
+*'''2774<sup>th</sup> Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Wyrm Squadron'''
-*'''3035th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Firedrake Squadron'''
+*'''3035<sup>th</sup> Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Firedrake Squadron'''
-*'''717th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Warhawk Squadron'''
+*'''717<sup>th</sup> Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Warhawk Squadron'''
-*'''2872nd Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Thunderbird Squadron'''
+*'''2872<sup>nd</sup> Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Thunderbird Squadron'''
-*'''484th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Talon Squadron'''
+*'''484<sup>th</sup> Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Talon Squadron'''
-*'''1002nd Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Red-hammer Squadron'''
+*'''1002<sup>nd</sup> Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Red-hammer Squadron'''
 ==Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications==
 {| align="center" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="width: 500px; height: 500px;"
 |+'''Lightning Air Superiority Fighter'''
+|-
 ! style="text-align: center;"|Type
 | style="text-align: center;"|Interceptor
@@ Line 29: / Line 41: @@
 |-
 ! style="text-align: center;"|Forge World of Origin
-| style="text-align: center;"|[[Cypra Mundi]], [[Bakka]], [[Hydraphur]]
+| style="text-align: center;"|[[Cypra Mundi]], [[Bakka]], [[Hydraphur]], [[Voss]]
 ! style="text-align: center;"|Range
 | style="text-align: center;"|8,000 kilometres
@@ Line 67: / Line 79: @@
 | style="text-align: center;"|30 millimetres
 |}
+{| align="center" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="width: 500px; height: 500px;"
+|+'''Lightning Strike Fighter'''
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Type
+| style="text-align: center;"|Ground Attack Craft
+! style="text-align: center;"|Operational Ceiling
+| style="text-align: center;"|36,000 Metres
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Vehicle Name
+| style="text-align: center;"|Lightning Strike
+! style="text-align: center;"|Max Speed
+| style="text-align: center;"|2,400 kilometres per hour
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Forge World of Origin
+| style="text-align: center;"|[[Cypra Mundi]], [[Bakka]], [[Hydraphur]], [[Voss]]
+! style="text-align: center;"|Range
+| style="text-align: center;"|8,000 kilometres
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Known Patterns
+| style="text-align: center;"|III - IX
+! style="text-align: center;"|Main Armament
+| style="text-align: center;"|2 Wing-mounted [[Lascannons]]
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Crew
+| style="text-align: center;"|1 Pilot
+! style="text-align: center;"|Secondary Armament
+| style="text-align: center;"|6 Hellstrike Missiles
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Powerplant
+| style="text-align: center;"|2 x F100-XB Afterburning Turbofans
+! style="text-align: center;"|Main Ammunition
+| style="text-align: center;"|30 Shots From Battery Packs
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Weight
+| style="text-align: center;"|10 Tonnes Empty
+! style="text-align: center;"|Secondary Ammunition
+| style="text-align: center;"|6 Missiles
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Length
+| style="text-align: center;"|10.8 Meters
+! colspan="2" rowspan="1" style="text-align: center;"|Armour
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Wingspan
+| style="text-align: center;"|13.75 Meters
+! style="text-align: center;"|Superstructure
+| style="text-align: center;"|45 millimetres
+|-
+! style="text-align: center;"|Height
+| style="text-align: center;"|3.4 With Landing Gear Down Meters
+! style="text-align: center;"|Hull
+| style="text-align: center;"|30 millimetres
+|}
+==Canon Conflict==
+Though it is stated in ''Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy'' that it took over five hundred years of research and trial-and error to officially approve the Lighting Pattern for the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]], ''Imperial Armour Volume One - Second Edition: Imperial Guard'' on page 12 indicates that it required only half a century for official approval to be made.
 ==Sources==
 *''Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard & Imperial Navy'', pp. 216-222
+*''Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard'' (Second Edition), pp. 12, 266
+*''Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus'', pg. 206
 *''Imperial Armour Aeronautica'', pg. 12
 *''Imperial Armour'', pp. 72-75
-*''Imperial Armour: Apocalypse'', p. 37
+*''Imperial Armour: Apocalypse'', pg. 37
-*''Imperial Armour: Apocalypse II'', p. 25
+*''Imperial Armour: Apocalypse II'', pg. 25
+*''Aeronautica Imperialis'' (6th Edition), pg. 22
+*''The Horus Heresy - Book Three: Extermination'' (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 150-151
+*''The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest ''by Alan Bligh, pg. 276
+*''The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution'' (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 132-147
+*[http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Imperial_Navy/VOSS_PATTERN_LIGHTNING_STRIKE_FIGHTER.html ''Forge World - Voss Pattern Lightning Air Superiority Fighter'']
 ==Also See==
 *[[Imperial Guard Vehicles]]
 ==Gallery==
-<gallery captionalign="left" widths="200" spacing="small">
+<gallery widths="200" spacing="small" position="center">
 Lightning1.png|A Lightning of the 2774th [[Imperial Navy]] Fighter Wing, Wyrm Squadron
 Lightning2.png|A Lightning of the 3035th [[Imperial Navy]] Fighter Wing, "Firedrake" Squadron
 Lightning5.png|A Lightning fighter as seen from the front
+LightningVoss03.jpg|A Voss Pattern Lightning Strike Fighter intended to serve as a ground attack version of the standard Lightning
+LightningVoss00.jpg|A Voss Pattern Lightning Strike Fighter of an unknown squadron, front view
+LightningVoss01.jpg|A Voss Pattern Lightning Strike Fighter of an unknown squadron, ventral view
+LightningVoss02.jpg|A Voss Pattern Lightning Strike Fighter of an unknown squadron, rear-right side view
+LightningVoss04.jpg|A Voss Pattern Lightning Strike Fighter's cockpit and ventral-mounted [[Lascannons]]
+LightningVoss05.jpg|A Voss Pattern Lightning Strike Fighter of an unknown squadron, rear view
+Ashen Claws_Primaris Lightning_side.jpg|[[Ashen Claws]] Primaris-Lightning of the [[Horus Heresy]] era (side view), unit designation unknown
+Ashen Claws_Primaris Lightning_top.jpg|[[Ashen Claws]] Primaris-Lightning of the [[Horus Heresy]] era; note the use of distinctive red wing art; unknown [[Space Marine Legion]] symbol and various iconography located on parts of the hull
 </gallery>
+[[ES:Lightning]]
 [[Category:L]]
+[[Category:Aircraft]]
+[[Category:Attack Craft]]
 [[Category:Imperial Aircraft]]
+[[Category:Imperial Navy]]
 [[Category:Imperial Spacecraft]]
+[[Category:Imperial Vehicles]]
 [[Category:Imperium]]
-[[Category:Imperial Navy]]
 [[Category:Spacecraft]]
+[[Category:Vehicles]]